From clubs and BLTs to Reubens, French dips, Cubans, paninis and more, sandwiches are menu staples at restaurants ranging from the classic deli on the corner to the trendy new place downtown.
The best feature fresh meats, cheese and veggies piled high on freshly baked breads, including crusty baguette, rye, brioche, ciabatta, sourdough — even pita.
The USA TODAY Network's Florida Dining & Entertainment Team, with reporters and editors across the state, picked restaurants serving some of the best sandwiches in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Palm Beach, Sarasota and beyond.
So bookmark this list. Whether you're looking for a great sandwich close to home or during your next Florida road trip, your next favorite club or Cuban may be just a few miles away.
A Mano Panino
Details: 1010 N. 12 Ave. Suite 128, Pensacola; 850-400-3657; amanopanino.com
Even before A Mano Panino received recognition from the prestigious Michelin Guide, owners Alex and Ashley Lamonte had long established their place in the Pensacola dining scene, hosting buzzy fine dining pop-up dinners throughout the city, which paired Alex’s Michelin experience with Ashley’s sommelier status.
For their next passion project, they aimed to bring a taste of Italy’s best flavors to the heart of Pensacola, inspired by their travels, with the smell of fresh-baked bread wafting into the streets. Transitioning from formal plates to casual fare made with exceptional attention to detail, they opened a homemade, small-batch gelato shop and a Tuscan-inspired panino shop called A Mano Panino. While you can expect to see quick-moving lines during lunch hours, they still maintain a hidden-gem feel by leasing suites out of a renovated historic hospital dating back to 1915.
As you might expect from the sandwich shop’s name, which translates to “by hand,” their bread is made from scratch and forms the foundation of the famous street sandwiches. While there is no bad choice on the menu, they recently began slow-roasting their porchetta, making it a must-try on sandwiches such as their No. 5 Il Maestoso, paired with a zesty giardiniera relish, creamy garlic artichoke spread and marinated zucchini. —Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal
Berry Fresh Cafe
Details: 1718 S.W. St. Lucie West Blvd., Port St. Lucie; 772-336-5291; berryfresh.cafe
As you enter the doors of this family-style restaurant, you’re greeted with the sight of a “rise & shine bar” and a welcoming, bright atmosphere. Father and son Tim and Mitch Timoteo opened the first Berry Fresh Cafe in Port St. Lucie in 2009, and have expanded to locations in Jupiter, Stuart, Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach.
They created a "real food" cafe with chef-driven, adventurous "made-from-scratch" dishes using the freshest ingredients, mostly from local farms. It serves signature jazzed-up comfort foods along with healthy vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free selections. The Stuart location ranked No. 29 on the Yelp Top 100 Florida Restaurant 2023 list, which is based on the Yelp community's crowdsourced ratings and reviews. The menu features a variety of mouthwatering sandwiches, including the BFC club sandwich with ham, turkey, applewood smoked bacon, apple butter barbecue sauce and other toppings on challah toast. –Valeria Bartra and Eve Pierpont, TCPalm
Būccan Sandwich Shop
Details: 100 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, 305-701-9914; 350 South County Road, Palm Beach, 561-833-6295; 1901 South Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, 561-469-1917, buccansandwichshop.com
Buccan Sandwich Shop's beef carpaccio sandwich is the reason many first-timers become regulars. Built with the same attention to detail that made chef Clay Conley's restaurants local favorites, it layers thinly sliced raw beef with arugula, parmesan, crispy and balsamic onions, mayo and lemon vinaigrette on a crusty baguette. The combination delivers crunch, richness and brightness in nearly every bite.
What started as a Palm Beach sandwich shop has expanded to West Palm Beach and Coral Gables. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proclaimed it the state's best sub during his 2026 visit. Political opinions may vary, but on this point, plenty of sandwich lovers agree. —Diana Biederman, The Palm Beach Post
Columbia Restaurant
Details: 411 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota; 941-388-3987; columbiarestaurant.com
Recognized as Florida’s oldest restaurant, the original Columbia opened in Tampa’s Ybor City in 1905. I recently enjoyed its famed Cubano at Columbia’s charming St. Armands Circle location in Sarasota, which has welcomed guests for more than six decades. In 2021, Food & Wine magazine named Columbia’s Cubano the best sandwich in Florida.
Biting into the warm, freshly pressed Cuban sandwich is like traveling back a century, to an era when immigrants were leaving indelible imprints on Florida communities such as Ybor City in Tampa.
“Tampa was like the sandwich, a mixture of cultures and food,” Columbia Restaurant once noted on its website. “The Spanish brought the fine ham, the Sicilians the Genoa salami, the Cubans the mojo-marinated roast pork, the Germans and Jews the Swiss cheese, pickle and mustard.”
The brilliance of the sandwich ($15), like all superior sandwiches, begins with the bread. At Columbia, that means freshly baked Cuban bread from Tampa’s La Segunda Central Bakery, established in 1915. —Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
D'Aleo Italian Deli
Details: D'Aleo Italian Deli, 2445 US 1 South, St. Augustine; 904-794-7672; daleoitaliandeli.com
Joe D’Aleo, the owner of D'Aleo Italian Deli, told the St. Augustine Record that he remembers how the family's Italian delicatessen nearly disappeared before it ever became a landmark in America's oldest city.
Almost four decades later, D'Aleo Italian Deli reigns supreme as St. Augustine's sandwich hotspot. The deli also continues to import specialty products from New York and Italy, such as Italian meats, cheeses such as fresh mozzarella, oils, olives, vegetables, stuffed peppers, sauces, pastas, raviolis, breads, plus an abundance of traditional Italian baked cakes and cookies (panettone, cannolis) and salty chips. The deli also offers a variety of frozen and ready-to-eat dishes made from Sicilian homemade recipes, plus traditional holiday Italian dishes, including lasagna, baked ziti, chicken Parmesan and eggplant Parmesan.
D'Aleo said customers won’t find any mainstream retail brands and products commonly found in chain supermarkets or big box stores. And nothing is sold without approval from "the whole family." ― Lucia Viti, The St. Augustine Record
Hopkins Eatery
Details: Hopkins Eatery has four locations in Tallahassee: 1208 Capital Circle SE, 1660-9 N. Monroe St., 1415 Market St., 3431 Bannerman Road; hopkinseatery.com
Old-timers have been lunching at Hopkins eatery since it opened in 1981, bringing a fresh approach to deli sandwiches to Tallahassee. Its popular rye-pumpernickel zebra bread, salads like Chicken Tetrazzini and Salad Nicoise and delicious Congo bars are still big hits.
Veggie fans swear by the Vegetarian Primo, a layered creation of carrots, celery, cucumber, bell pepper, cheddar cheese, onion, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, tomato, lettuce, provolone cheese and sprouts. The Linda Special, a house favorite, is a simple winner in our book: Turkey, provolone, tomato and sprouts on rye-pumpernickel with mayonnaise and house dressing. The Ultimate Turkey is a chef's favorite, loaded with turkey, cheddar and mushrooms. You can enjoy them at any of their now four locations in the capital city. —Kyla Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat
Paco Submarine
Details: 515 N. Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna Beach; 386-402-7436, pacosubmarine.com
For nearly three years, Paco Submarine has brought its A-game to New Smyrna Beach with a compact menu that proves quantity is no match for creativity. Owner Brian Cieslak, a former competitor on Food Network’s “Chopped,” channels experience stretching from Baltimore’s crab houses to Florida’s coast into a quirky one-stop shop for stacked sandwiches, hand-cut fries and chilled wine.
Here, the Belafonte has never let me down, taking your familiar BLT several indulgent steps further with house-smoked bacon, fresh tomatoes, shredded lettuce, avocado and herbed mayo. The Whaler, a more recent favorite, pairs crispy fried, dill-brined chicken thigh with creamy ranch, lettuce and thick-cut bacon. Or try the Rudy, available as a vegetarian sandwich or loaded with tender slivers of shaved ribeye, layers of caramelized onions, mushrooms, Cooper Sharp and hot pepper relish for an added kick.
Whatever you choose, save room for a side of hand-cut, Old Bay-seasoned OC fries and a slice of homemade pie. —Helena Perray, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Paper Bag Deli
Details: 11 SE First Ave., Gainesville; 352-554-6109; thepaperbagdeli.com
Featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," The Paper Bag Deli's Man in the Black Hat is essentially two sandwiches in one. What makes it unique is the combination of two distinct halves, each featuring different meats and flavors.
One side is stacked with juicy oven-roasted turkey breast, crispy onions and melted Swiss cheese. The savory turkey pairs well with the crunch of the onions and the richness of the cheese. The other half features tender short rib that shines when dipped in the accompanying au jus. Banana peppers and creamy Havarti add a tangy contrast that balances the richness of the meat.
Melted cheese helps hold everything together, while the toasted bread provides a satisfying crunch. The combination of rich meats, crisp toppings and gooey cheese creates layers of flavor and texture in every bite. It may be one of the greasiest sandwiches in Gainesville, but it's worth every napkin. —Elliot Tritto, Gainesville Sun
The Sheik
Details: 2708 N. Main St., 9720 Atlantic Blvd., 1103 Dunn Ave., 2953 Philips Highway, 5172 Normandy Blvd., 7361 103rd St., all in Jacksonville; sheiksandwiches.com
If Jacksonville has a "signature" sandwich, surely it must be the humble camel rider. (Just ask Mick Jagger, who referenced the sandwich at a 2019 concert in Jacksonville.) The sandwich, a pita sack stuffed with sliced deli meat (usually ham, salami and bologna) with a touch of lettuce, tomato and cheese and a bit of dressing, is a great one-handed sandwich, at least at the start. There are vegetarian versions, but if you stray too far from the simple ingredients, it’s not a camel rider anymore.
You can find riders on the menu at dozens of lunch places around town, including Goal Post Sandwich Shop, Southern Grill and Noura’s. Pinegrove Deli has a “camel ryder” on its menu, and the Desert Rider downtown offers a “desert rider.” But the sandwich probably got its name from The Sheik Sandwiches and Subs, which opened north of downtown in 1972, founded by brothers Samir "Sam" and Munir "Mike Senior" Salameh, along with their wives, Suad "Sue" and Basima, according to the restaurant's website. —Tom Szaroleta/The Florida Times-Union
Terra Craft Sandwiches
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Details: 231 W. Hibiscus Blvd., Melbourne; (321) 237-2311; terracraftsandwiches.com
Tucked into a small Melbourne storefront, Terra Craft Sandwiches has earned a loyal following for its made-from-scratch approach and creative sandwich menu. House-made sauces, pickles and soups, along with fresh ingredients, help set the eatery apart from a typical lunch spot.
One standout is the Chicken Al Pastor sandwich, a flavorful creation that combines seared chicken, grilled pineapple, cilantro aioli and chili sambal slaw. The ingredients are layered between two flaky parathas, creating a balance of savory, sweet and spicy flavors with plenty of texture in every bite. The sandwich showcases the kitchen's knack for blending familiar ingredients with unexpected twists.
While menu favorites also include brisket, ribeye and eggplant schnitzel sandwiches, fresh salads and rotating soups round out the offerings, making Terra Craft Sandwiches a go-to destination for a handcrafted lunch in Melbourne. —Amber Olesen, FLORIDA TODAY
Wichcraft Handcrafted Gourmet Sandwiches
Details: 27975 Old 41 Road, Suite 105, Bonita Springs; 239-450-3011; wichcraftbonita.com
When the owners of two restaurants in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Florida open a gourmet sandwich shop, you know it’s going to be amazing. And this one certainly is. Brandon Schewe and Caitlin Emery’s fast-casual gem off Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs debuted in April, right next door to their award-winning Bohemian Restaurant in Entrada. Lush plants, deep green tones and exotic statues and paintings make this bohemian-esque space the perfect setting for these carefully crafted, made-in-house gourmet wonders.
The Banh Mi we had on our first visit remains one of our favorites. But now we have a new obsession, and it’s called The Florence (with prosciutto, chopped burrata, pistachio pesto, and lemon-dressed arugula with truffle honey and pecorino on a toasted schiacciata). The layers, the textures and the flavors will have us coming back again and again. Add the house-made kettle chips and caramelized onion chive dip and you just may too. —Robyn George, The News-Press
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 11 best sandwich spots in Florida worth the trip
